Fast bowler

“ The low skimming fast bowler is generally an easy man to play; the batsman, when the ground is true, can play hard forward to almost any length of ball; there is no abrupt rise to render an uppish stroke probable, even if he does slightly misjudge the pace and length of the ball. There is, of course, in fast bowling, a much greater difficulty in getting any appreciable twist on to the ball than in slow. The ball leaves the ground so quickly that it is hardly in contact with it long enough to 'bite' the turf, and so avail itself of any spin that may have been imparted to it by the bowler. ”

“ The advent of the fast bowler has been the chief means of changing the wicket keeper into a back fielder, he has at the same time given the opportunity to the aggressive batsman. The chief object of the fast bowler has been to frighten the timid batsman, and drive him to the tent. If he has been the Simon Pure article, he has fulfilled his mission, and even the crack batter has failed to score heavily. But has he not oftener through bumpy ground and wrong pitch, for the faster the bowling, the less control the bowler has over the ball, given the other side the victory? ”

“ It is also an advantage to keep the batsman waiting for the delivery of the ball, which happens when the bowler runs several yards up to the wicket. For a fast bowler who intends to change his pace from very fast to medium slow, a long run is of great advantage, as the sight of the bowler coming up to the wicket before the delivery of a slow ball as fast as before the delivery of a fast one, is extremely likely to take in the batsman with regard to the pace. There are not so many tricks and dodges in the art of bowling fast as there are in bowling slow ”

“ A bowler must find out for himself whether nature intended him to be fast, medium, or slow; and having decided upon the pace that suits him best, he must stick to his choice. It is never quite easy to gauge nature's intentions correctly, so some care and thought must be exercised. It is a good plan to consult an experienced cricketer on the subject. Boys have a decided inclination to be fast bowlers. Pace is evident, and more or less tangible. They naturally devote more attention to that kind of bowling than to slower medium. ”

“ While saying that pace is everything in a fast bowler, we do not wish for a moment to cry down or disparage the advantages of medium-paced bowling. This style has its own characteristics, which are more closely allied to slow bowling than to fast; but at the same time there are many moderately good medium-paced bowlers now bowling with some success in first-class matches who would be much more deadly and successful could they add about half as much speed again to their bowling. ”

“ In fact, there are occasions when fast grounds and fast bowling combine to make batting very easy—when, as a well-known Yorkshire fast bowler said, 'If you poke at her she goes for four.' There is no real necessity for ever having a regular smack at straight balls from a very fast bowler; it is practically as effective to play them forward, with the weight of the body thrown on the left foot and the arms and shoulders kept free and loose. But by all means hit as hard as you possibly can at a half-volley outside the off stump ”

“ It has always appeared to us that the reason why real slow bowling is slightly less deadly than fast or medium on slow wickets is simply that the batsman is more at the mercy of the eccentricities of the ground when playing to the latter class of bowling than when playing to the former. He always has the power, if he would only exercise it, of leaving his ground to balls of a certain length from the slow bowler, and smothering them. And again let the beginner lay this axiom to heart: the ground can commit no devilry if the ball is smothered at the pitch. ”

“ When it is observed that every batsman has his own peculiar style, some right handed, some left, some long, some short reach, some forward, some back, the beginner will at once percieve that success depends upon this, absolute command of the ball. When the possible fast bowler has learned to bowl “slows” with precision, he may put up an occasional fast ball. If he has properly conceived the art of slows, the chances are all in favor of his also becoming a good fast bowler. No eleven is perfect with only slow bowlers. Batters must be worried by fast as well as slow balls. ”

“ It is easier to cut in the first instance, and there are seldom so many fields on the off side to the fast bowler. But the slow ball can be and ought to be driven along the ground if the batsman gets well over it, times it correctly, and throws the left leg across in the same way as we explained in describing the proper method of making this stroke off fast bowling. It is more difficult to time good slow bowling, when the bowler is continually altering his pace, than fast, and herein lies the difficulty of hitting these off balls. ”

“ The fact that it causes the ball to keep low, though detrimental to the mowing style of batsman, allows a good player to meet it confidently with a hard forward-stroke. Balls that keep low are easy to drive along the ground. Over-arm bowling—fast, medium, and slow—is the kind most generally adopted now. Almost certainly it is the best. The bowler who has the higher action, if he has the other requirements of good bowling, attains the better results. As to pace, relatively fast bowlers are, as a rule, most successful upon fast fiery wickets; slow and medium upon sticky or crumbling wickets. ”

“ There have been but few really fast bowlers who have been able consistently to make their balls come 'back.' Every now and then, however, for some unaccountable reason, a fast bowler finds that he is making the ball do a lot from the off side. Perhaps his grasp is firmer and his wrist and fingers are more powerful than on ordinary occasions, or the ground may have more turf on it, or, for some other reason, his bowling twists in from the pitch with most fatal results to the batsmen. ”

“ They are a race of cricketers that, especially amongst amateurs, seems to be dying out— a fact which must cause the greatest anxiety to all who play the game, when it is recollected that no side, however strong in batting, fielding and bowling, is really complete without a thoroughly good fast bowler. But still slow bowling is generally found to be the most successful. It may be that this is partly the result of the numerous wet grounds which slow bowlers have to assist them during the cricket season, or of there being more slow bowlers than fast. ”

“ With this object it is the duty of every slow bowler to take advantage of any local peculiarity which the size and situation of the ground may afford. He should almost always have the choice of ends, except on occasions when the captain of the side considers that for some reason his fast bowler is more likely to get rid of the batting side for a small score than the slow, and then, of course, the fast must have the choice. ”

“ It is a very common occurrence to see a slow bowler who is bowling really well, and with tolerable success, taken off at once on the advent of some batsman who has earned a reputation for big hitting. He himself may be nervous about the fearful smashing the batsman may give him, and suggest to his captain to put on some fast bowler in his place, or else the captain may make the change himself. ”

“ Murdoch, the famous Australian batsman, was particularly apt to mistime fast bowling on first going in, and several times has the author seen his stumps shattered immediately by an ordinary straight fast ball without any 'work' at all on it. The tail end of a team are usually victims to a good straight fast bowler, as, unless a fast bowler is met by straight fearless forward play, he is bound to be dangerous, and it very rarely happens that the tail end of an ordinary team, even a county team, is capable of this. ”

“ We have scores of slow bowlers turned out year after year from our universities and public schools, but scarcely ever a fast one worthy of the name of 'bowler.' Few men care to be at the trouble and exertion of bowling fast when they find that inferior batsmen, by dint of playing straight and assisted by a perfect wicket, can successfully defy all efforts to dislodge them. When a map has become fairly proficient with the bat there is no easier bowling to play, if the wicket be a really good one, than fast. ”

“ A fast bowler naturally requires more frequent spells of rest than a medium or slow. If the hope of getting wickets depends chiefly on a fast bowler, he must be very carefully used. He should always be allowed a chance at new batsmen, as his pace is likely to beat them at first. But he should be taken off directly runs begin to come freely off him, and then put on again for a bit. A fast bowler is especially valuable for knocking out the tail of a side, so he should not be exhausted too much by being kept on when he is obviously doing no good. ”

“ The side that possesses the greatest variety of bowling will, other things being equal, come out with the best results at the end of a season. Certainly no side is complete without a good fast bowler. He is particularly useful in several ways. Batsmen on first coming in, and as yet unaccustomed to the Hght and the pace of the wicket, are more likely to mistime his than slow or medium-pace balls, simply because there is less time to watch them and to correct mistakes. ”

“ In playing forward to slow balls, one is apt to play too quickly, and lift the ball gently into some one's hands. For this reason some good batsmen make it a rule never to play forward to a slow bowler. In playing back to a fast bowler, the thing to remember is, that there is very little time to make the stroke, the margin of error being exceedingly small. The slightest mistiming or misjudgment is fatal. ”

“ If you nave one slow, and one fast bowler, pitch your wickets right up and down the wind. A slow bowler can never bowl well with the wind in his face. If your bowling is all fast, and your opponents have a slow bowler, pitch your wickets with a cross wind, that you may in some degree destroy the effect of the slow bowling. If either of your bowlers twist his balls, favour such twist as much as possible by taking care to choose the ground at that spot where the ball should pitch its proper length, a little sloping inwards. ”

“ Those were the days when the bowling was mainly fast, the ground rough, and the cautious safe field who got stolidly and fixedly in a certain position was often defeated owing to the ball making unspeakable bounds. It required a touch of genius to be a grand field at Lord's in those times, and several members of those two Cambridge elevens possessed it. The two Oxford elevens of 1874 and 1875 had each only one fast bowler, but they had magnificent fielding teams to support their slow bowlers. When the bowling is generally slow, amateur wicket-keepers can hold their own. ”

“ Medium-pace bowlers seem to employ a combination of the two. The difference is hard to explain, but any experienced bowler will recognise that it exists. A slow bowler, in putting on off-break, gives the ball a distinct twist with his fingers and wrist, using chiefly his first, second, and third fingers. But the fast bowler lets the ball fly from his hand without consciously giving it a twist; the result of his body, arm, and wrist action imparts to the ball an outward left-to-right spin. ”

“ Palmer, another of the famous Australians, sends down the best fast ball that has been seen from a medium-pace bowler. There is no change of action to warn the batsman, no longer or faster run, but the ball comes with lightning rapidity, generally pitched well up, and very often in the block-hole, making that most deadly ball a 'fast yorker,' about which something will be said farther on. The change from slow or medium-pace bowling to quite slow is much more frequently practised than the change to fast, and consequently we may presume it is more easy of accomplishment. ”

“ A great deal has been said and written about young fast bowlers bowling too fast for their strength, thus overtaxing their powers and over-bowling themselves. It is doubtless a fact that many young promising fast bowlers have been rendered useless by this anxiety to get more pace on the ball than their strength warranted; and there can be no better advice to a young aspirant for the honours of a fast bowler than that so often given, viz. ”

“ Whilst speaking of slow bowling we shall refer to any pace under that of medium, as the rules and principles of medium are included in what is said on fast bowling. Perhaps the most important thing that every bowler, whether fast, medium, or slow, should realise is, as we have said before, to keep the ball well pitched up when a batsman first comes in. The importance of this rule is manifest, as a short-pitched ball requires no play, whereas one pitched a good length, or even farther, requires steadiness and accuracy of eye to play ”

“ It is not easy to decide who has been the fastest of fast bowlers. In our own day, I think that Mr. Cecil Boyle, when he bowled for Oxford (1873) , was the swiftest I have seen, except a bowler unknown south of the Tweed, Mr. Barclay, now a clergyman in Canada. Mr. Barclay was faster with under-hand than with round-hand. Beldham and his comrades played Browne without [24] pads; I have seen this tried against Mr. Barclay—the results were damaging. Famous names of fast bowlers are Mynn, Marcon, Fellowes, Tarrant, Jackson, Freeman, Hope Grant, Powys, and Robert Lang. ”